Same day – Meikosil POV

The Catacombs of the Patriarchs stretched hundreds of meters underground, a labyrinth of tunnels and chambers carved into solid rock. The entrance was inside a crypt where a nearly invisible portal hidden behind a statue of a forgotten deity led to a stone staircase that descended hundreds of meters into the depths of the earth. The atmosphere was cold and damp, the air heavy with the smell of earth and dust. The dim light of the torches carried by the adventurers barely illuminated the walls covered in inscriptions in an ancient language, now illegible. The catacombs, built by the lost ancient civilization of the giants, were a testament to the greatness and faith of the Giants, a race of enormous beings that once dominated this land. The chambers, immense and imposing, were decorated with reliefs depicting gods and goddesses, their colossal figures carved with impressive detail in red marble. In each chamber, a sarcophagus of black stone, obsidian or basalt, adorned with gold and precious stones, housed the remains of a Patriarch, the spiritual leaders of the Giants. Each sarcophagus was surrounded by statues of the same stone as the sarcophagi, which seemed to watch the intruders with empty eyes.

Traversing dark corridors, Meikosil and her four D.K.s came across sacrificial rooms, with stone altars covered in dark stains, and libraries of magical papyri, with stone shelves filled with ancient books, written in runes, the writing of the giants and dragons.

The underground labyrinth seemed to stretch on forever. With each step, the feeling of isolation and mystery increased. The catacombs were a place of power, but also of great danger, full of ghosts, zombies and other dead things. None of them capable of facing a master warlock and four D.K.s

The walls, in some places, were covered in bioluminescent fungi, which cast a ghostly light over the carvings and inscriptions. The atmosphere was charged with a strange energy, which seemed to emanate from the stones themselves.

In one of the chambers, a secret room, hidden behind a stone door, operated by an ancient mechanism. The room was an observatory with a vaulted ceiling that opened to the sky, allowing observation of the stars.

In the center of the room, a large bronze telescope with crystal lenses pointed to the stars. It was a testament to the intelligence and wisdom of the Giants, who dominated astronomy and astrology.

In this room is the target of Meikosil's search, the righteous mortals of Meikosil. Protected by ancient protective magics still in force.

The catacombs of the Patriarchs were a place of mysteries and secrets, a labyrinth of tunnels and chambers that held the history of a lost civilization. It was a place of great beauty and great danger, a place that tested Meikosil's courage and intelligence. She loved it, she sometimes thought about how he could give it up and become a LICH, it had something to do with someone she really liked and revenge, but now she couldn't concentrate on the details and even the big picture was getting more and more vague, but one thing was clear and that was what she now felt for her husband, master, patron, her everything. The mere distance between them already caused her pain, only soothed by the pride of having been chosen for such an important task, it hurt her that that snake stayed with her husband, but someone had to carry out the vile and tedious domestic tasks of life in society. Even though she loved her husband and longed to be by his side again, she still couldn't find it pleasant to be around living people, she never liked crowds, the smell of sweat and the hubbub of conversations. Being by the side of the death knights again brought her peace, now something more, happiness, after all they were gifts from her husband to her, not to that snake. Now it was time to repay the trust and carry out the task that was given to her and more. It was curious how certain memories were becoming increasingly vague and others not, such as the magical defenses of the Patriarch's sarcophagus, which she discovered many decades ago when she came here for the first time: Symbol of Exsanguination, Symbol of Laughter, Symbol of Sleep, Symbol of Pain, Symbol of Fear. Symbol of Stunning, Symbol of Insanity, Symbol of Death.

It probably didn't even cross the builders' minds, being looted by intelligent undead such as Lich, Vampires and many others who roam free and are not bound by the standards that normally govern the undead.

All the most powerful protective spells in the magical arsenal are really a shame that they are all very effective only against living beings.

“Open the tomb and only remove a strand of the patriarch’s hair, don’t touch anything else.” And without saying a word, the four knights continue on and as they pass, the defenses are activated, but they have no effect.

They arrive at the immense sarcophagus.

In the center of the chamber, there was an object that seemed to defy nature itself: the sarcophagus of obsidian as black as night, so polished that it reflected the light of the lanterns like a mirror, immaculate and flawless.

The volcanic stone was carved with impressive precision, forming a coffin with straight and angular lines. At the top, a figure in bas-relief represented a man with a long beard and a stern look, wearing a crown adorned with symbols belonging to an extinct culture of giants.

Obsidian, a rare and precious material, was considered sacred by the fire giants, representing the strength of volcanoes.

The four knights join forces and push the lid open, one climbing on top of the other to remove the hair.

They soon hand me the item. I put it in a jar and seal it with a cork. I put it in my pocket.

I look at the walls of the chamber and see the countless tomes and magical papyri, full of lost knowledge. But they will have to wait for another time.

I turn and leave the chamber, followed by the death knights. As soon as we move a few dozen meters away from the chamber, I cast teleportation and we appear in the crater that leads to the old commercial district and, further back, the Tower of War. I have never been there myself, so teleportation does not work without great risks. This carnal form brings certain benefits, but also problems. The tunnels that lead to the Tower are treacherous and difficult, even for someone who is trained, but they are easily solved using magic.

I cast the fly spell on myself and the D.K.s, and we took off and descended into the crater that led to the tunnels.

The entrance to the crater opened like a giant mouth in the floor of the necropolis, dark and damp. The entrance was wide enough to allow ten men to pass side by side, but the darkness clung to the stone walls, engulfing the vision, but for her and her knights it was like a night of full moons. The old, damp air carried the smell of damp earth and a slight hint of mold,

signaling the presence of a path traveled by few, spider webs as thick as ropes signal that besides the undead, the cave was home to other creatures.

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During the flight, Meikosil's mind began to analyze the implications of the spontaneous change of Patronus and the new spells received through the pact:

1st—bless water or curse water; 2nd—make whole, suggestion 3rd—create food and water; 4th—minor creation; 5th—fabricate; 6th—major creation, bestow curse greater; 7th—permanency; 8th—greater polymorph;

As my husband said, these were spells more focused on creation and modification, unlike the focus of his previous patron, death and destruction, interesting.

After a long walk, another thing she realized was that before she felt an affinity with negative energies and now she no longer felt that. Another thing she still had to get used to was fear and anxiety, and in those moments she touches her phylactery in search of comfort. Even though part of her really enjoyed destroying the impostor's chatter, the sight of him being so easily destroyed caused her great fear.

It was during these musings that her group was attacked.

A huge, hairy thing, full of legs, grabbed her and bit her shoulder, sinking its fangs into her body. She soon felt the burn of the poison penetrating her veins. Pain, one of the inconveniences of being alive, but she is a master and this was not her first and, certainly, would not be the last. Casting fire shield, she soon finds herself free of her attacker, a Phase Spider. Others like her are already in hand-to-hand combat with the D.K.s. and they react instantly with four spheres of primal power, one of each element.

The combined clouds of primal power sweep through the cavern, the spiders falling to the ground, their bodies twisted and destroyed, my shield is also swept away, and the same elemental power that killed the spiders hits me.

PAIN.

Damn, if they were my D.K.s they would all have an affinity for fire and with my magical items plus my natural resistance to magic, these attacks would not be a problem. But now... how it hurts. My clothes destroyed, my dignity shaken and this smell, this smoke.

It's a good thing the vial and phylactery were inside a small silver jewelry box. Otherwise, the vial would have been destroyed and perhaps the phylactery as well. Damn, they need to find a safe place for the phylactery as soon as possible.

Unfortunately I won't be able to reach the tower today.

DAMN STUPID SPIDER MEN!

We move forward as quickly as possible until we reach an opening that leads to the cave where the tower fell. Just a little further.

Finally, we arrive, I see the tower, and I mark all the reference points in my memory.

We teleport to the village.

“My lord husband,...I need your help, there was a small incident.” Meikosil says through the Link

“What happened….haaa. I’m going now.” Through the link Meikosil felt her husband’s concern and then a certain air of amusement. And soon he is in front of her.

“Meikosil.” His eyes widen when he sees my appearance and he quickly hugs me and the magic hits me hard, all my wounds healed in an instant. “Why didn’t you go straight to the big house?”

It is impossible to hide anything from my husband, as soon as he asks the real reason, shame, jealousy and pride come to my mind and all of this because of the “snake.”

He takes three deep breaths “Meikosil, wife. I will not demand that you like each other or be friends, but I expect more from you, such childish behavior does not please me.” Now something much worse comes to my mind, I displeased my husband. “Sshhh...it's okay, I understand that you're still adjusting to your feelings and all the upheaval of the last few days. But please, do this for me.” He says in a gentle voice that does more for my soul than his healing magic.

I feel his mind drift away and soon I realize that the D.K.s are moving away towards the entrance of the village.

We stay like that hugging each other until I calm down, and in the blink of an eye we're in our room, on the bed are new clothes for.

“Take off those rags, and then take a shower, we'll meet in the hall.” He gives me a soft kiss and leaves the room. My mind wanders through the memories of our wedding night. I shake my head and go take a shower. Heal cures almost everything, but it doesn't clean dirt.

I enter the hall and the smell of food and sweaty bodies hits me, the smells of living things, smoke and more. At the central table, my husband, now in his serpent folk form, beautiful in a way, but much less attractive than his dark elf form, and the snake and his "doormat". Servants passed by carrying dishes, drinks in jugs.

In the hall there were also village chiefs, all still frightened by the previous dinner.

As I entered, many heads turned, but quickly looked away. Nothing spreads gossip more than servants, regardless of race.

I took my seat next to my husband.

“Good evening, husband, good evening, Hethress.” She answers me with a nod. Her face shows that she is not in a good mood.

My husband puts his hand on my leg and leans in to speak in my ear, a shiver goes up my spine. “My wife, unfortunately we will not spend the night together. I have to attend to my new wife, Xena.” Now a jug of ice water goes down the same place.

“Wife, what wife?” I ask as I notice the snake’s expression blank...haaaa...that’s why she’s in a bad mood.

“Like I said, Xena, I "raised" her while you were away. I see that this bothered you, my wife. I’ll tell you the same thing I already told Hethress, you will always be loved and respected, but understand, I will have many wives as well as a legion of children, I want my wives to get along or at least be polite to each other.” He looks at me, pulls me in and kisses me. He lets me go and does the same with the snake.

I really wanted to hit him, but just thinking about it makes me suffer. Anyway, I’ll do anything to stay by your side and even a second of your attention is worth more than my life.

A part of me says that this is very wrong, but it’s a very small part and soon, I feel, it will cease to exist.

I lower my head and, to ease the tense moment, I hand over the vial containing the patriarch's hair.

My husband takes it, opens the vial and, with the help of a wine glass, swallows the hair.

A few seconds later, he spits out all the wine.

Hethress and I get up to help him. Did he choke on the wine?

"I'm fine, really, it was just a scare." He says, wiping his mouth with a rag.

"Husband..." we both say at the same time.

"What scared you, husband?" Hethress finishes the sentence.

And with his mind, he shows us.

SPECIAL ABILITIES-Improved Copy(Su)

Same. After spawning, a True Core must wait 3/days before doing so again.

Analise

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Registered entities:

1

1-Akaos Drouldul, Lawful Evil, Male fire giant Cleric 20

Copiar; ---/---